Best Free Service (2014)

@ColoradoDOT

How best to keep tabs on the inevitable road closures and accidents in winter? You could wade through ads on commercial radio in hopes of catching a traffic update. Or you could whip out your phone and check the Colorado Department of Transportation's Twitter account, where the agency posts regular updates on interstate and surface road closures throughout the business day. @ColoradoDOT is short and to the point, with the latest information on closures and delays caused by various acts of nature (and out-of-state ski-trippers) crammed into 140 characters or less. The best part: Unlike radio, Twitter works in both directions, so the department's social-media managers can (and do) answer questions directed at them. Just make sure to pull over before whipping out your phone: You don't want to be the subject of the next tweet.